When I experience stress, it manifests directly in my physical body. As someone with an anxiety disorder, I get the usual panic attacks and spiralling thoughts and sudden inexplicable aversions, but much more so than in my mind my stress appears on my body. Specifically, it shows up on my skin.
I’ve always had “sensitive” skin, in that if there is something to react to, it will find a way to react. Things that are scented or harshly chemical cause alarmingly vivid reactions. The mysterious rashes and flushes I get are positively stunning in their intensity and hue. And yesterday, after a few weeks of stress and grief, I broke out in hives that covered my full legs, from groin to ankle. I ended up downing a bunch of Benadryl and sleeping for most of the day in an anti-histamine haze.
Apparently simply having skin is challenging for me right now.
Album Reviews
I got to talk about Nekrogoblikon (yep, goblin metal) and their latest record Power in the latest batch of short reviews featured on About Heavy Metal. It’s “relentlessly high-energy and intensely enjoyable.” Also: goblins!
Book Reviews
I did something unusual yesterday, but something I want to do more of: I reviewed a book directly for my own website. In this case, it was the latest Machine of Death collection, This Is How You Die, edited by Ryan North, Matthew Bennardo and David Malki !. “Where Machine of Death used the initial premise as it’s jumping off point, This Is How You Die is standing on the shoulders of the previous collection. It is more daring, more dynamic, pushing the concept further, leading to pieces that just brush against the original idea before spiralling off into their own universe. It is dizzying and wonderful.”
Emerging Music Festival
Tomorrow, I’m travelling to Rouyn-Noranda, QC to attend the Emerging Music Festival, which runs from August 29th to September 1st. The idea of seeing a ton of new music in a remote location sounds fabulous, though for reasons beyond my control I am going to miss the spectacular metal night, which is heartbreaking. Still, very much looking forward to it and having a blast with my frequent show-buddy and good friend Adam Wills, who will be taking photos.
A Thing You Should Be Reading
Nimona, the ongoing web comic by Noelle Stevenson, is damn brilliant. It’s about an aspiring supervillain and her mentor, his nemesis, the complexity of moral codes, and a whole lot of awesome.
Important Cronut News
Toronto Public Health finally identified the source of the cronut contaminate that was making so many people ill: It was the maple bacon jam, a foul concoction atop the burger that I knew was trouble from the beginning. When the news was released I sent Corbin Smith, my companion in ill-advised eating, an email with no text in the body, just the subject line, “IT WAS THE FUCKING MAPLE BACON JAM.” UNfortunately he was eating at the time and I nearly killed him. Also, it is a crime and a shame I don’t yet own one of these shirts.
